Sports Writer

SCG Trust chairman Rodney Cavalier cannot guarantee there will not be a repeat of the bizarre circumstances which led to Sunday night's controversial finish to the one-dayer against Sri Lanka.

Cavalier maintained SCG ground staff did all they could to ensure play was possible after the rain delay, describing the persistent drizzle as a ''freak occurrence'', and defended the venue's drainage system.

The SCG surface can cope with up to 400mm of rain per hour, but it was no match for the drizzle and still conditions which prevented ground staff from making the venue fit for play.

''It was a freakish event,'' Cavalier said. ''In my time on the trust and 50 years of watching cricket at the SCG, I've never known that to happen before. There's no mortal force that can control the weather - the weather is what it is.''

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Cavalier scoffed at suggestions the venue should introduce covers for the entire playing surface. The practice is done at some Sri Lankan venues, which do not have the same quality of drainage system as the SCG. More than $3.4 million has been spent since 2000 on the SCG surface, reducing the need for expensive full ground covers.

''I've not heard anyone seriously put forward full ground covers before today and it's a matter that the cricket authorities will have to talk about. It's not a matter of cost, it's not a matter that's going to be costed because it's not going to happen,'' he said.

Debate continued on Monday as to whether officials should have allowed play to continue in the fourth one-dayer.

Opener David Warner defended the decision to abandon the match, saying the outfield was too wet for play to resume.

''When we were throwing the ball on the ground you could see the water spinning up behind the ball, which indicates the ground was still pretty wet,'' he said.